Automatic forging machine



. L w. GREVE 1727,32()

AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Filed Jan, 14, 1924 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept.10,'1929.

x l l- Sept-'10, 1929.

Lv. w. GREVE AUTOMATIC FORGING -MACHINE Filed JmL-14, 1924*L 7sheets-sheet 2 Sept. 10, 1929. w. GREVE l AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINEFiled Jan. 14, 1924 7 she'etS-shee't 3 ,M Mvlum sept. 1.o, 1929.

\ L. w. GREVE AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet -4 Sept.` 1o,1929.

L. w. GREVE Auron/.Tlc Pomme incarna IFAT- Sept. 1o, 1929.

- l.. 'w GREVE AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Filed'aan. 14,` 1924 '7Smets-smetl 7- Patented Sept.. 10, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS W. GREVE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHAMPION MACHINEFQRGING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE.

Application led January 1'4, 1924.` Serial No. 686,034.

` ber 8,1923.

In my application above referred to, I

/have disclosed a forging machine or manipulator which does away withthe hand manipulation of blanks under a hammer, thisl machine lbeingassociated with `a furnace l and a drop hammer with which the forging'isfdone, and serving to take a heated blank fromthe furnace, convey andmove it under the hammer, to control the ham'mer and to move the blankabout between the usual dies of the hammer, and to otherwise performautomatically movements and acts done manually to obtain 'finishedforgings so as tojdispense with considerable skilled labor now required.

The machine formed in accordance with the present invention is of thegeneral type of that illustrated in my prior application,

- the principal objects vof the present invention being to simplify andto reduce the weight and working parts of the machine shown in mypriorapplication referred to. The invention may-be briefly summariuzed asconsisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations andarrangements of parts which will be described in the specification andpointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings illustrating'the invention in itspreferred form, Fig. 1 is a top plan View of the machine showing partly1n section and partly in elevation a portion of the drop hammer and thedelivery member of the heated blanks passing from the furnace; Fig. 2 isa side view of the same; Fig. 3 is an end View lookingtoward the rightof Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view substantially along the line 4.-4of Fig. 2, looking in the direction i `ndicated by the arrows; Fig. 5 isan enlarged view partly in side elevation and partly in section with themachine viewed as in Fig. 0,; Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse sectionalview substantially along the line 6--6,of Fig. 1, looking in theldirection indicated by the arrows; Fig. 7 is a plan view and Fig. 8 isan end View of a support for the drum controlled slides;-Fig. 9 is aplan view; Fig. 10 is an end view of one of a series of slides; Figs. 11and 12 are views.

corresponding to Figs. 9 and 10, showing another form of slide utilized;Fig. 13 is a View partly in side elevation and partly in section'showingthe manipulator arm removed from the machine; Fig. 14 is an end view. ofFig. 13, looking toward the right of Fig. 13, .the lower partof the armsupport being removed; and Fig. 15 is an end view of the arm shown inFig. 13, looking toward the left of Fig. 13.

My improved machine for manipulating the blanks from which the forgingsare to be made, is used in connection with a hammer, which as in myprior case may be and `preferably is a drop hammer, of usualconstruction, except for certain control features to bev referred to.4.A portion of the hammer yis shown at 10 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Likewise,the machine is associated with a furnace of suitable constructionpreferably having an automatic feed for the blanks, but the details ofthe furnace are not material to the present invention, a portion of thefurnace being shown at 11 in Fig. 2.

In my pr1or application the furnace wasl located at one side of thehammer, and the 'blank manipulating machine was so constructed'that the\manipulator arm not only was capable of moving laterally with respectto the hammer, and toward and from Vthe hammer, but it was mounted on aturret which enabled it to have a rotary movement throu l1 a suitableare, acombination of straiglit line and rotary movements being given tothe arm to cause the arm to carry the' blank from the furnace to thehammer.

The present machine is so constructed as to do away with the necessityof the rotary' movement of the arm, though the lateral and front andrear motions are retained. To permit this, the furnace is preferablyarranged at the rear Vrof the hammer, as indicated in F ig. 2, and thereis provided a delivery member .for the heated blanks, by or throughwhich the heated blanks may be jaws of the manipulator arm. .Thisdelivery 5 member as here shown is in the form of a trough l2 (seeparticularly Fig. l), which trough as here shown, .extends forwardlybetween the stationary die 13 of the hammer and one of the side housingsthereof. Any suitable means, preferably automatically operated, may beemployed for moving the blanks forwardly along this trough to thedelivery point or to the jaws of the manipulator arm.

lAt this point it might be mentioned that in this machine, as in myprior machine, the lateral and front to rear motions of the manipulatorarm are obtained through the provision of two carriages, one carryingthe arm and movable in one direction, and mounted lon a second carriagemounted on the frame or base of the machine and movable in a directionat right angles to the first-named carriage. The control of thesecarriages and .1 other parts of my prior construction was obtainedthrough cam actuated levers and a pair of drums having cam grooves, allthis control mechanism being 'mounted 0n lthe upper carriage and movabletherewith. lt is a feature ofthe present machine that the controlmechanism is not only simplified with respect to that of my priormachine, but it is mounted in the stationary part of the machine,enabling the machine to be made small- F er and lighter, and requiringless power to actuate the moving parts.

As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the blank manipulating machine islocated in front of the hammer 10. The machine includes a stationaryframe or base 14, in the lower part of which the major portion of thecontrol mechanism is located, as is apparent from an inspection of thedrawings, particularly Figs. 2 and 3. f

Supported at the upper part of the frame 14 is a carriage 15 which maybe termed the lower carriage, which in this instance moves laterally infront of the hammer. This carriage is supported on wheels 16"engagingtrackways on the frame, and it is moved along the frame by pinions 17 ona front-torear shaft 18 extending along the lower part Aof the carriage15, these plnions engaging racks 19 (see particularly Fig. 2) carried on3 the under sides of gibs 20 secured to the front and rear ends of theframe in position to act as guides for the carriage 15. The drive forvshaft 18 will be explained presently.

Mounted on the carriage to travel toward and from the hammer isthe uppercarriage 21 having wheels 22 engaging trackways of they lower carriage15 (see particularly Fig. 4)` The upper carriage` is moved forwardly andrearwardly by pinions 23 on a shaft-24, the pinions 23 engaging racks 25-tails of these slides arev shown in Figs. 11

secured to'the under` sides of gibs 26 secured to the sides of the uppercarriage 15, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

The uppercarri'age 21 carries the manipulator arm 27,V the constructionof which is like that shown in my prior application, the arm having atits rear end a depending supporting portion 28 fitting within areceiving part 29 depending from the upper carriage 21. The supportingpart 28 of the arm is adapted to slide up and down in the receivingvpart 29 of the carriage, but does not rotate therein as in my priorapplication.

` The power for operating the main parts of the machine is obtained froma motor, preferably an electric motor, not here shown, and

adapted to be supported along or on one side 'of the base. I haveillustrated in Fig. 6 at 30, a port-ion of the motor shaft, this shaftbeing connected by spur gearing designated as a whole by the referencecharacter 31, and located just inside the frame or base, as clearlyshown in Fig. 6, to a short shaft carrying one ofthe spur gears, and abevel gear 32 which meshes with a bevel gear 33 on a main power shaft 34extending from front to rear near one side and near the bottom of theframe or base 14. The power shaft 34 is adapted to be continuouslydriven, though it may be stopped through the medium of a clutch'35 (seeFig. 1) adapted to be shifted by a yoke 36 operated b an air cylinder 37controlled by an air va ve 38 supported n n the front part of the frameand having an operating handle 38B t0 be referred presently.

The main power shaft 34 is connected by an inclined shaft 39 and bysuitable bevel gearing to a shaft- 40 of a cam drum 41 supported inbearings of the frame, which cam drum automatically controls themovement of the main parts' of the machine to cause it to function inthe manner previousl stated andas will be subsequently describe more atlength. Itis to be noted that the controlling drum 41 is su ported byand within the frame or base in ependently of either carriage.

This drum' has in this instance six cam grooves 42 which are engaged byrollers 43 carried by slides 44 arranged in two slide- 11 ways 45 of astationary' slide sup ort 46, (see particularly Figs. 6, 7 and 8 theseslides being adapted to actuate clutches and valves'through which themachine is controlled. IIn this instance, for convenience, the slidesare arranged in two guideways disposed, in adiagonal plane, eachslideway being adapted to receive three of the slides. The three in theupper slideway have downwardly projecting lugs or extensions 44l forcarrying the rollers 43, and upwardly' rojecting bosses 44" to which thecorrespon 'ng slide actuated parts in the form of links or levers areadapted to be connected. The deand 12. The slides in the lower guidewayhave upwardly projecting lugs or extensions 44c for the rollers 43, anddownwardly pro-- Power is derived from shaft 34 to shiftboth carriages.The lower carriage 15 is driven through shafts and gears located nearthe rear part of the frame and illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. Thedriving connection includes bevel gears 47, either of which is adaptedto be clutched to the power shaft 34 through the medium of two clutches48 controlled by a double clutch yoke 49. These bevel gears 47 areadapted to alternately drive in one direction or another, a bevel gear50 on a short vertical shaft 51 supported by the frame of the machineand connected by bevel vgear 52 to a shaft 53 which is above and atright angles to the main power shaft 34 and supported in bearings nearthe rear end of the frame. This shaft 53 carries a spur pinion 54 whichis splined on the shaft or has a sliding connection thereon. That is tosay, it is rotated by the shaft and may move lengthwise of it. Thispinion 54 forms a part of the gear' train movable with the lowercarriage 15, the pinion being shifted along the shaft by an arm 55extending downward from the carriage, this arm beingr best shown inFigs. 3 and 5. The gear train of which the spur pinion 54 is a part,includes two additional spur pinions, the upper one of which is onv ashort shaft 56, shown by dotted lines in the drawings, which shaft issupported by the carriage 15, and is connected by bevel gearing' 57 toshaft 18, previously referred to, carrying the pinions 17 engaging theracks 19 of the frame. Thus it will be seen that the lower carriage 15and all parts supported by it, including the upper carriage and therhanipulator arm, maty be moved laterally across.

the front of the rop hammer'in either direction, and can be stopped inany position by actuating the clutches 48. The clutch yoke 49 is adaptedto be shifted by a lever 58 shownby dotted lines in Fig. 1, and by alink 59 to one of the camactuated slides 44. lin a somewhat similarmanner the upper carriage is moved back and forth toward and from thehammer by gears and shafts carried in part bythe stationary frame orbase, in part by the lower carriage 15, and in part by the uppercarriage. The driving connections between the main power shaft and theupper carriage are as follows: Near the front end of the main powershaft 34 are two bevel gears 60 adapted .to be separately i turn adaptedt0 be actuated by clutched to the shaft 34 by clutches 61, in a doubleclutch yoke 62 connected by a link 63 (see particularly Fig. 1) to oneof the cam actu- `of which is on a short shaft ated slides 44. Thesebevel gears are adapted to rotate a bevel gear 64 on' a short verticalshaft 65 connected by bevel gears 66 to a horizontal shaft 67 supportedin bearings in the front part of the frame 14. Splined on this shaft 67is a spur pinion 68 adapted to be moved along the shaft by a dependingarm 69 of the lower carriage 15. This pinion 68 forms a part of a geartrain movable with the lower carriage, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, thisgear train including additional spur gears, the upper of which ismounted on a short shaft 7() located on'the lower side of ing down fromthe lower side of`the upper carriage 21. This splined pinionl 73y formsa part of a spur gear vtrain carried by the upper carriage 21, the upperpinion or gear 75 connected by bevel gearing 76 to shaft 24 of the uppercarriage provided with the pinions 23 which engage the racks 25.

Thus it will be seen that with the clutches 48 in neutral position,` theupper carriage with the manipulator arm will be moved laterally with thelower carriage when the lower carriage is moved in either direction byhaving one of the clutches 61 engaged, and by actuating the clutches 48the upper carriage may be moved forwardly or rearwardly on the lowercarriage either while the latter is stationary or moving. An auxiliaryclutch 77 on the short vertical shaft 65, and shown in both Figs. 4 and6 is utilized also at times for the control of the upper carriage. Thisclutch is operated by a yoke 78, adapted to be-shifted by an aircylinder 79 shown in Figs. 1, 4 and6, the plunger or piston in thiscylinder being adapted to be operated to disits actuation of the slidesconnected to the clutches 48 and 61 will automatically cause themanipulator arm', through suitable movcments impartedl to the twocarriages, to be given lateral or forward or rearward movements eitherseparately or in combination, and may stop and start either or boththese movements at predetermined times.

The construction of the maniplator arm is identical with thatillustrated in my prior application, and will therefore be hereydescribed quite briefly. The arm is provided at its forward end with apair of pivoted jaws' or tongs 81 adapted to be closed and opened by themovement of a piston in an air cylinder 82 carried by the forward partof the arm .to grasp and release the heated blanks, one

2 87 adapted to be actuated by an air cylinder 88 located in the armsupport 28 -as indicated in Fig. 15.

The forward end of rear tube 84 is con-' nected by a hinge 89 to a tube90 in which is received an inner tube 91 slidable in the outer tube, butnormally held retracted in the latter by a spring 92 or equivalentdevice. These two telescopic tubes are provided to allow the arm to beelongated in the event a forging sticks to the upper die of the drophammer. @ne of these tubes has a slot 93 receiving a pin 94 on the othertube, the pin and slot connection permitting the telescopic movement andserving as a guiderto prevent one tube rotating in the other. Securedtothe forward end of the inner tube 91 is a short filler tube 95 to whichis secured a forwardly projecting tube 96 constituting in eiect anextension ot the inner tube 91, and telescopically arranged in tube 96is a for' ward tube 97 carrying the 'jaws 81. These two telescopic tubes96 and 97 are provided to permit the shortening of the arm as the blankelongates while being forged, a relative movement between these tubes ofa delinite amount being permitted by a in and slot connection indicatedat 98 in ig. 13. The forwardmost tube 97 is normally held in itsoutermost position by a spring 99, but

it may move back or inward against the action of the equivalent of afriction brake 100 engaging the rear part of the inner surface of thetube 97, this brake being controlled as, in my prior application by themovement of a piston in an air cylinder 101 located in tube 91. .f

As in the manipulator armof my prior application, if a forging sticks tothe upper die of the hammer so that the forward end of the arm iscarried upwardly, the tube 90 while moving upwardly about the axis ofhinge 89 engages and rocks a bell-crank arm 102 which actuates an airvalve 103 which admits air to the top of a cylinder 104 carried by andextending down in the arm support 28 so as to cause the entire arm to bemoved upward, this cylinder containing a piston 105 on a fixed rod 106projecting up from the bottom of the receiving part 29 in which the armsupport 28 is slidingly received. When the tube 90 again comes intoalignment or substantial alignment with the4 rear tube 84 the air valve103 is automatically reversed, again allowing the arm support 28 toslide down in the receiving part 29.

The supply of air to the cylinder which actuates the jaws or tongs 81,also to the cylinder 101 which controls the friction brake 100 in themanipulator arm, and also to the cylinder which movesthe rack to rotatethe arm, is controlled by Valves supported in a stationary position inthe frame or base and operated by certain of the cam actuated slides 44.These three valves, and a fourth valve, which at certain points in thecycle of operations controls the hammer, are all indicated in Fig. 1.The valve which controls the supplyof air to the tong operating cylinderis shown at 107, the handle for this valve being connected by a link 108to a bell crank 109, in turn connected by a link 110 to a lever 111connected to one of the cam actuated slides 44. The arm which controlsthe supply of air to the cylinder 101 which actuates the brake 100 inthe manipulator arm is shown at 112, the handle of this valve beingconnected by a link 113 to a bell crank 114, in turn connected by a link115 to a lever 116 which is connected to another of the slides 44. Thevalve which controls the supply of air to the cylinder for actuating therack 87 to rotate the mani ulator arm is shown at 117, the handle orn tis valve being connected by a link 118 to a bell crank 119, in turnconnected by a link 120 to a lever 121 connected to another of the camactuated slides 44.

The fourth valve referred to for controlling the operation of the hammeris shown at 122, the handle of this valve being connected by a link 123to a bell crank 124in A turn connected by a link 125 to a lever 126connected to another cam actuated slide 44.

Flexible tubes connect all these valves to the moving parts, the tubesfor supplying air to opposite ends of the cylinders 82 and 101 in themanipulator arm extending through the arm from its inner or rear end,

as indicated particularly in Figs. 13 and 14.

, The hammer herein illustrated is provided with a foot-board, heredesignated 127, which foot-board is ordinarily depressed by the foot ofthe operator when hedesires the hammer to drop to deliver a for ing blowto a blank on the lower die 13 o the hammer. In this instance, as in myprior application, the foot-board is actuated by an air cylinder 128 andits plunger, indicated at 128 in Figs. 1 and 2, this air cylinder beingsupported on the lower part of the base ofthe hammer directly above thefoot-board. The supply of air to the cylinder 128 is controlled at timesby vulve 80, referred to in the earlier part of this description, and attimes by the valve'122, which is operated by one Aof the cam actuatedslides as explained above. The manner and vtimes in which these valvesare operated will be eX- plained presently in describing the operationof the machine.

To stop the hammer when it goesup after delivering the forging blow, Iprovide as in my prior application, an air valve 129 on the housing ofthe hammer, which valve is turned by a ratchet device 130 operated by anadjust-able stop 131 of the usual operating rod 131 with which drophammers are provided, the function of the valvey being to admit air tothe lower part of cylinder 128 so as to lift the plunger from the foot-Iboard and thereby cause the hammer to be stopped in its uppermostposition precisely as when the operator removes his foot from thefoot-board as these hammers are ordinarily operated. This valve 129 alsoreverses the air in clutch operating cylinder 79 allowing clutch 77 toreengage so that the upper carriage may b-e moved back and forth by thecam actuated clutches 48.

l prefer to provide also, as in my prior construction, means for liftingthe manipulator arm slightly after each blov7 is delivered to the blankby the hammer so as to lift the blank from the die impression of thelower die to facilitate the lateral movement of the arm and blank to thenext'die impression. This is preferably accomplished, as in my priorapplication, by a small air cylinder which is indicated at 133 in Fig.3, this air cylinder being located in and secured to the inner side ofthe depending portion 28 of the arm and having a piston and a plungeradapted to engage a plate 13eL constituting the bottom of the dependingpart 29 of the upper carriage which receives the part 28 of the arm.` Asin my prior application, air is supplied to this cylinderto actuate thesame when the hammer goes up through the medium of avalve 135 supportedon the hammer and operated by a second stop 136 on the operating rod13121. (See Fig. 3.)

The operation of the machine is as follows: Assuming that there is aproper feed of blanks through the chute 12, and assuming that themanipulator arm is in position A (Fig. 1) in line with the feed ofblanks, air is then supplied to the cylinder so as to actuate the pistonwhich controls the jaws er tongs which are thus caused to grip the blankat one end, this valve being con" trolled by one of the cam actuatedslides. Then the upper carriage is moved rearwardly and the lowercarriage is then moved laterally and then the upper carriage is movedforwardly again so as to bring the blank into position B over thebreak-down die impression 13a of the lower die 13 of the hammer, themovement of the carriages necessary to bring this about being controlledby the cam actuated slides. As the blank is moved forwardly in positionB it strikes and shifts'a lever 132, and this operates valve 80, causingthe disengagement of clutch 77,' stopping the forward movement of theslide and blank. Likewise it carriage is actuated so as to move theblank to position C (Fig. 1) with the blank over the roughing out die13". Then the hammer again drops, movement of the hammer now beingcontrolled by the cam actuated valve 122. Then the lower carriage ismoved laterally to bring the blank to position D with the blank over thefinishing die impression 13. After a forging blow is delivered in thesame manner as previously described, the lower carriage is movedlaterally to bring the blank to position E over the cutoff device 13d,and when the hammer again descends through the actuation of the valve122, the finished forging is cut olf the blank. i

Assuming that two forgings are to be made from the blank, as ispreferred, `the sequence of operations above described is repeated, theblank being moved first to position B, and moved forwardly until the endof the blank strikes control lever 132,y

causing the stopping of the forward movement and the operation of thehammer, after which the blank being moved successively to positions C, Dand E.

It might be here stated that when the manipulator arm returns again toposition B, the control lever 132 is returned to the position shown inFig. 1, and this can be accomplished by any suitable part travelinglaterally with the lower carriage. 1n this instance the lower carriageis provided for this purpose with a forwardly projecting arm 132ELcarrying at its outer end a pivoted linger 132", free to move in onedirection only from normal position in which it is held by a spring. @nthe return movement of the manipulator arm the pivoted finger engagescan extension of valve 80, and thus returns the control lever 132 to theposition shown in Fig. l, but as the manipulator a'rm moves fromposition 13 to position C, the finger 132b passes freely past the valveextension 80% per slide forwardly, and the short piece of the blankstill in the tongs or jaws is then discharged. Then the arm returns toposition A and a new blank is gripped by the jaws or tongs, and theoperations are again repeated. 7

When the armis in positions A and B the axis of the hinge S9 isvertical, but while being moved from position B to position C the armrevolvespon its axis through an arc of 90 with the hinge horizontal, andremains in this-position until the operation at position D is completed.In other words, when the blank is in the roughing out and finishing diesthe hinge is in such position that the arm may swing upwardly in thevevent the forging sticks to the ascending upper die of the hammer. When'the blank is being moved from position D to position E, the arm isturned back to the same position Aas it occupied when in positions A andB, i. e., with the hinge vertical. This turn ingl or revolving of thearm is, of course, accomplished by the actuation of valve 117.

Both the upper and lower. dies of the hammer are each preferably,provided with astandard form of vibrator to minimize `liability of theblanks sticking to either die,

the vibrator attached to the lower die being indicated at 137 in Fig. 2,and the'vibrator attached tothe upper die being indicated at 138 in thesame figure. I may, if desired provide. other vibrating means to preventthe forgings stickin to the dies..

For example, I may apply a vi rator to the manipulator arm so as toimpart a slight vibratory movement to the blank.

It will be understood, of course, that while the forging is being madeand the blank is lbeing elongated, the tube automatically shortens, butafter the forging is cut off, air issupplied to the brake controllingcylinder 101 so as to allow the arm to assume its normal'length beforethe next foregoing cycle is started.

I provide on the upper carriage an abutment 139 which is designed tostrike handle 38a ofair valve 38 provided on the frame of the machine asalready explained, so as to operate the valve and disengage clutch 35 soas to stop all'movements when the arm is in position B and the stock orblank istoo short tomake a forging. Thisis provided as an emergencyfeature to prevent' the end of the arm coming under the. hammer, and

i being injured or broken by the upper die.

Thus it will be seen that a sequence of operations, in many respectssimilar to those ,carried out by the construction of my-priorapplication, is automatically followed out in cycle after cycle,resulting in the forgings being produced one after .the other withoutany manual control or operation, it being only necessary that there be.a supply of blanks fed from the furnace along the delivery trough 12.Should the` feed of blanks lbe stopped for any reason, the machine isthrown out of operation by the engagement of the stop l139 with valvehandle n ber-and moving them successively into and kfrom the differentsets of dies of the forging machine comprising a movable manipulator armhaving blank holding means, movable supports for the arm wherebymovements in different lineal directions are givenfto the arm, powermeans for the arm supports, and automatic controlling means supportedindependently of the arm supports forcontrolling the movements of thearm and of the forging machine.

2. In combination with a forging machine having a 'plurality of separatesets of dies' and a furnace having delivery means for heated blanksarranged adjacent the front of the forging machine, an automatic machinefor recelving the blanks one after the 4 other, for moving them to andinto and'out of the different sets of dies of the forging machine andfor controlling the latter, said machine including a manipulator armhaving blank holding means, and movable supports for the arm wherebymovements in different lineal directions are given thereto,

power means for shifting the arm supports, power means for operating theforging machine, and automatic control mechanism supperted independentlyof the arm vsupports for controlling the said power means and forcausing repeated cycles of predetermined movements of the arm andoperations of the forging machine.

3. In combination with a forging hammer having a. plurality of separateIsets of dies, a furnace for heating blanks to be forged, a. heatedblank delivery member extendmg forwardly past a portion of the hammerfor delivering blanks in. a line at substantiallyl right angles to andadjacent the front of the hammer, and a manipulator for receiving theblanks and for successively moving them ybetween the sets 'of dies ofthe hammer, said manipulator being llocated infront of the hammer andcomprising an arm which extends toward the hammenand is provided withblank receiving means, said arm-having 4supports by which thearm may' bemoved laterally in front of theihammertndrforwardly and rearwardlytowardand from the same to successively position the blanks in the diii'erentsets of dies. l

4. In combination with a machine having a plurality of separate sets ofdies for forging blanks and an apparatus for heating blanks having meansfor discharging the heated blanks at a point substantially in line withthe front of the machine, a manipulator having means for grasping theheated blanks one at a time and means for automatically moving saidmanipulator through a plurality of lineal movements angularly disposedin direction With respect to each A other to transfer the blanks fromthe heating apparatus tothe machine and successively move the same intoand out of the different sets of dies.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

LOUIS W. GREVE.

